State Constitutional Protection

The Tennessee Constitution protects the right to reproductive choice to a greater extent than the federal Constitution. The Tennessee Supreme Court held unconstitutional under the state constitution a biased counseling and mandatory delay law.  Planned Parenthood of Middle Tennessee v. Sundquist, 38 S.W.3d 1 (Tenn. 2000).  A similar law has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court under the federal Constitution.  Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992).